WEBVTT
REPORTER: JULIE BUTERA SAYS SHE
WAS ATTACKED DIRECTLY ACROSS THE
STREET.
SHE SAYS SHE IS TRAUMATIZED BY
THE ORDEAL AND HOW IT WAS
HANDLED BY THE POLICE.
>> I AM CAREFUL OF WALKING DOWN
THE STREET AND IN FRONT OF MY
HOUSE.
MY LIFE HAS CHANGED COMPLETELY.
REPORTER: SHE SAYS SHE WAS
WALKING HER DOG WHICH HE NOTICED
A WOMAN AND HER SON WALKING
TOWARD HER.
>> I WAS TRYING TO WALK ACROSS
THE STREET AND SHE CAME UP FROM
BEHIND ME AND HIT ME.
IT MADE ME RELEASE MY DOG, THEN
SHE JUMPED ON HIS BACK.
REPORTER: THAT WOMAN CALLED 911.
BOTH WOMEN WERE HOLDING ONTO THE
WHEN THE OFFICER ARRIVED, DOG
SAYING IT BELONGED TO THEM.
ACCORDING TO THE POLICE REPORT
LAWRENCE SAID THE DOG RAN AWAY
, AWHILE BACK AND HAD BEEN
MISSING SINCE.
LAWRENCE CLAIMED THE DOG WAS
GIVEN TO HER, BUT DIDN'T HAVE
PROOF OF OWNERSHIP.
HOWEVER JULIE BUTERA DID.
,>> EVEN AFTER THE PROOF WAS
THERE, HE WANTED TO GIVE MY DOG
TO THESE PEOPLE.
HE IS MICROCHIPS AND REGISTERED
WITH THE STATE.
>> YOU NEED LEGAL IDENTIFICATION
OF THE DOG.
REPORTER THE HUMANE SOCIETY
SAYS TO KEEP VACCINATION REPORTS
HANDY.
OR CONSIDER TATTOOING YOUR
ANIMAL, ESPECIALLY PIT-BULLS.
>> PITBULLS HAVE A HIGH VALUE TO
BE BREAD.
THERE IS A HUGE MARKET,
ESPECIALLY IN THE INTERCITY.
REPORTER: THEY HAVE NOW OPENED
AN INVESTIGATION INTO HOW THE
OFFICER HANDLED THE INCIDENT.

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Butera said she was walking her dog, as she does every morning, when she noticed a woman and her and son walking toward her.

"I was trying to cross the street to avoid confrontation, and she came up from behind and hit me. That made me release (Titus), and she pulled him and she jumped on his back," Butera said.

Butera said the woman then called police. According to the police report, the responding officer saw the two women holding onto the pit bull, both saying it belonged to them.

At the time, neither had proof of ownership, so the officer put the dog in the back of vehicle while he asked more questions.

The woman who called police, identified as Coanna Lawrence in the police report, said her son saw a woman walking with their missing dog, which had gotten out of the yard a while back.

Lawrence did not have paperwork on the dog, but she said the dog was given to her in January after it was found wandering in the neighborhood. The report said she had pictures of the dog on her cellphone.

However, Butera did have proof of ownership. The officer was able to confirm with the SPCA that Butera had owned the dog since July of 2016 and had gotten the dog licensed, chipped and vaccinated.

"Even after the proof was there, he still wanted to give Titus to these people, and Titus is not only micro-chipped, but he's registered with the state," Butera said.

Butera said she's been traumatized by the whole ordeal and how it was handled by police.

"I'm very fearful of walking down my street and in front my house and for my dog. Our lives have changed completely," she said.

To avoid confusion over dog ownership, Jeff Dorsen Director, of the Humane Society of Louisiana, said to keep medical records and vaccination reports handy, or to consider tattooing your animal---especially pit bulls.

"Depending on the breed, there's a value in reselling them, or breeding them, and pit bulls have a high value to be bred. There's still a huge market for pit bulls, especially in the inner city," Dorsen said.

A spokesperson with the New Orleans Police Department said that they have opened a Public Integrity Bureau investigation on how the officer handled the incident. The department also reached out to Butera and the Humane Society to meet with them about their concerns.

WDSU attempted to reach out to the other woman who was also involved in this incident, but did not hear back.